at Hay tor ^ in Devonshire, 361 



By this it will be seen, that the central bed is of iron-ore, 

 and considerably the largest ; whilst the other alternating beds 

 of schist and ore are disposed above and below it in a tole- 

 rably regular relative proportion. The schist having a ten- 

 dency to contract in width, as the depth increases, and the ore 

 to approximate each way towards the central bed, into which, 

 the obvious probability is, that the other beds, at a greater 

 depth, run ; but whether this is the case, or whether, if they 

 do so, the central bed is proportionally increased, must of 

 course remain uncertain, until a level is driven, which I un- 

 derstand it is proposed to drive from the northern ravine, and 

 which would cut the lode at about 150 feet perpendicularly 

 below the surface. Permanent springs rise at the depth of a few 

 feet, the water from which is carried off by a syphon bent over 

 the northern slope of the hill. A level driven from the back of 

 the lode, at the depth of about 20 feet from the surface, through 

 schist, in a south-west direction, intersected, about 30 feet from 

 its commencement, another small bed of ore, about 3J feet in 

 width, in which a large proportion of iron-pyrites is dissemi- 

 nated, the dip being the same as that of the principal lode, with 

 which, however, it does not seem to be connected ; the latter 

 being included in a well-defined manner, within the limits 

 pointed out by the above section, from which the width will 

 be seen to be about 28 feet. The length, of course, is not ca- 

 pable of being so accurately defined : from the part where the 

 section was taken on the western side, the traces are observa- 

 ble on to the granite, a distance of 230 yards, which they do 

 not enter, but are conformable along its edge for some distance 

 in a northerly direction ; and on the eastern or lower side, 

 it has been traced for the distance of 250 yards, down to a 

 compact stratum of trap*, blended with garnet and actinolite, 

 against which the traces appear to have been hove in a zigzag 

 curved manner, and to dip under it. The length however of 

 the beds containing ore of a quality available for smelting, does 

 not (at least to the depth at present excavated) exceed 150 

 yards. 



The surface along the whole line of the lode, as well as on 

 each side of it, is apparently regular and undisturbed, and con- 

 sists of a loose head of flat schistose stones and fragments, 

 and the earthy mould arising from their decomposition, to the 

 depth of five or six feet. In this head, at either end, along the 

 line of the lode, bunches of manganese contaminated by iron 

 occur. Near the central part of the lode an old sinking was 

 discovered to the depth of 42 feet on one single bed of the 



* See former note on this substance.— Edit. 

 Ncxq Series. Vol. 3. No. 17. May 1828. 3 A ore. 



